The landscape, the strong wind on his face was pleasant, in the distance he could see huge walls, he sighed, getting annoyed at something, then he frowned and began to think about something.
"I must be prepared, that killer won't miss the chance to try to kill me, but..."
Jack smiles broadly as he tosses his hair back with his hands, while the man driving the wagon is uncomfortable with Jack's laughter. He looks like a madman as he laughs, and the man is afraid.
In front of this damn gate, I feel irritated, the noise of thoughts hurts me, it's annoying, whether they are bad, good, or even childish, it doesn't change anything! I feel heavy, the world spins like a spiral while my vision darkens and brightens, this damn ability... it's a curse.
Jack then releases a huge aura toward something, everyone around him is frightened by his presence, the guards run and surround him while pointing spears at him.
"Hands up!"
"Throw your weapons on the ground."
The guards were trembling with fear, their breathing rapid, their eyes shaking. Just a brief breath from Jack made them increasingly nervous. Suddenly, someone began to laugh loudly. It was a very tall man with very white skin and long pink hair, his eyes blue. He stood face to face with Jack, smiling excitedly.
"It's been a while... hasn't it, Jack?"
Jack's whole body shivers, he puts his hand on his neck trying to hide the goose bumps, he sighs and stares at him once more.
"Yes. Enough beating around the bush, I'll say this only once. If you dare to try to spread 'that' information, we will declare war immediately."
The man raises his head and starts laughing, sticking out his tongue.
"Right, right! You traveled for two whole days just to tell me that?" He laughed so hard that tears came out of his eyes. "Is the information about the kings killing countless innocent families really that important?"
Before the man could even finish his sentence, a wave of mana swept through everyone within a 30-meter radius, making a loud noise that prevented anyone there from hearing anything.
"Hector! If you say that again, the next thing I'll rip off won't be your hand."
The tension between the two was evident, everyone there felt the pressure caused by both of them.
"So how about the next thing you rip off... being my virginity?"
The man stuck out his tongue with a huge smile as he admired Jack. The pressure across the field ceased, and the awkward silence drowned everyone who heard it. Jack began to concentrate mana in his hands, then grabbed Hector by the shirt and threw him as far as he could, running after him.
Hector lands on his feet and immediately jumps at such a tremendous speed that he looks like a shooting star flying toward his enemy. The pressure caused by the movement of both their mana creates a huge glow in the sky, and enormous lightning bolts caused by the friction of the mana begin to appear in the sky. and then the two collide with their fists, and the force of both is so great that they are in a huge battle of strength in the air, and then Jack spins and kicks Hector in the stomach and throws him by the arm, throwing him to the ground and then descending at high speed with his knees. Hector dodges and tries to counterattack, but Jack directs his punch downward and then hits him straight in the face. The two stop and stare at each other. Hector smiles as drops of blood fall from his nose, and then applause is heard. A man with a simple appearance, surrounded by people with powerful auras, his gentle smile reveals his personality. At that moment, Hector bows, and Jack does the same. that man was the king of that place.
"It's been a long time, hasn't it, Jack?"
At the man's words, Jack feels uncomfortable, his face reflecting sadness, a regret that penetrates his body.
"Yes... I'm glad Your Majesty is well."
Jack stared at the man's leg. He bit his lips as something squeezed his chest, various memories flooding his mind, his body shaking as he held back his feelings.
"Jack, it's over, it's not your fault." —At that moment, Jack read the man's mind.
"You are frightening everyone around you, please, I want you both to apologize to them."
Jack and Hector stand up and bow and shout apologies to everyone, and then the man calls them inside.
As they followed the man, countless people stopped and greeted them, whether children, adults, or even old people, everyone took the time just to greet him. That man was the definition of respect not being defined by power, a figure loved by everyone in that kingdom. His name? Reinhard, a man who rose from the bottom to the top.
They arrive at a coffee shop where they enter and sit down. The man in the hat who hides his face behind a mask stays outside while the red-haired woman sits next to Reinhard and tastes the tea to see if it is poisoned. Finally, Hector stands to the side, and Jack politely sits down and cower while the man looks at him.
—It's been a while since your last visit. You didn't come here just to keep us quiet about something that happened years ago, did you? You came here because you were afraid we would cause you more headaches. after all, trust between the people and the police force has been destabilized —the man takes a lollipop out of his pocket and puts it in his mouth— and if any kingdom makes a move now, it would cause a huge uproar, you would lose political power, and the relationship with the people would deteriorate to a level where no one in their right mind would want to remain in the kingdom, which is bad for you.
The calm voice spitting facts in Jack's face made him fall silent without an adequate response, just listening, and then Hector appears with two cups of coffee, he hands them over and then the woman tastes the coffee and hands it to Reinhard.
"I won't do anything, don't worry, after all, even in the end... we're still companions."
Reinhard takes his coffee and stands up, he looks at Jack with a slight smile and then tilts his head slightly and thanks him for his time. He waves goodbye as he leaves, but in front of him, the man's smile and expression have completely changed, he has become serious, something is worrying him.
"Ni, keep an eye on him. If what we were told really happens, we'll have serious problems."
The woman nods in agreement, and Hector looks back with a worried expression.
That night, Jack was at an inn where he was renting a room. He climbs the stairs and stands in front of the door he chose. Entering, he looks around. There is a bed with worn foam in the upper right corner of the room, a sofa, and an old television that is crackling. Someone forgot to turn it off. Jack loosened his tie and then took off his shirt. He sat on the sofa and stared up at the ceiling while running his hand through his hair.
The sound of thoughts was suffocating him, and from his pocket he pulls out a used medicine packet. He stares at it fearfully, gets up, takes one of the pills, puts it on his tongue, and looks for water. When he finds it, he drinks it, begins to stagger, and falls with a headache, but then the noise of the thoughts that were disturbing him finally ceases. He rang a bell and a woman arrived. She was startled by Jack's shirtless appearance and looked away.
"Please, can you bring me a glass of beer, the strongest you have."
The woman blushes and then agrees while stammering, she turns and starts running away in embarrassment, Jack closes the door and once again begins to stagger, and then countless voices begin to whisper around Jack, blaming him.
"Brother... why did you kill me?"
A shadow in the shape of a child begins to blame Jack, along with others, some adults, some young people, but they all have something in common: they blame Jack for their deaths.
"SHIT"
At the table, Jack picks up a toothpick and pierces his hand with it. The voices then stop, Jack loses his strength and falls to the floor, leaning against the door while putting his hand on his head. Blood ran down his face, but he didn't care. He just kept his hand on his face, pressing it against his cheek. He tried to suppress his feelings, but he couldn't. Tears began to fall from his eyes, mixing with the blood and camouflaging them.
—I'm sorry... please.
Tears flowed incessantly, only silence filling the room, a man who cannot show weakness even in his most unstable moment, for him, that is what being a man means.
The sun shone through the window, a troubled night had passed, countless bottles of drinks littered the floor, Jack got up with a headache, he put on a shirt and got ready, the noise of his thoughts returned along with the consequences of that pill, the ghosts returned, Jack stood firm, pretending that nothing was happening, he stopped and looked at his hand, it was bandaged, the people around him pushed him, this day will be busy, busy streets, as if there were a huge party going on.
"Ah... Reinhard's words are still tormenting me, but I can't deny it, he's right, many kings were sent to their respective countries where we have good relations, and I was sent here because this kingdom is where I was born."
Jack tries to ignore the sound of thousands of people walking, the noise of thoughts, ghosts, and even his own thoughts torment him, the guilt that weighed on his heart did not cease, it only made him more and more... regretful.
"I wanted my mother to buy one for me."
"Ah, damn it, that old bastard delayed my salary!"
"From what I heard, most of the streets were closed, and this is the only one that's working, how strange."
Jack was listening to their thoughts and then began to hear them more calmly. He realized that many people had the same thoughts: the streets were blocked out of nowhere, something was wrong.
"He realized."
Jack tries to turn around quickly, a man with a macabre smile appears as he advances toward Jack with something in his hands, he quickly tries to dodge.
"Gotcha."
Then a second person appeared, a woman who touched Jack's back with an orb, and suddenly Jack's body began to stretch and twist into a spiral shape as his body was compressed and slowly disappeared.
The darkness was disturbing, the silence, everything happened in a short interval, I was teleported somewhere, but I was sure of one thing, they don't want me dead, they want something from me.
Suddenly, a bright light appears and illuminates the entire room. Jack quickly closes his eyes and puts his hands over them, trying to avoid the light. When his eyes adjust, he looks at the source of the light and sees a large screen with an empty chair. A voice begins to echo through the room.
"One of the 20 kings, Jack, the intellectual, the telepath, wow, you have so many names, how interesting!
A masked person appears and leans on the chair while watching Jack, his mask with two snakes devouring each other as if in a cycle. The mask had no holes, and a hood covered the person's body.
"Who are you?"
The masked man begins to laugh loudly and pulls the chair slightly closer, sitting down gently, crossing his legs and resting his face in his hand as he leans back in the chair.
"Jack, Jack, you know very well that I don't need to introduce myself, after all, you know who I am."
Jack stares at the screen with a serious expression, trying to observe the smallest details, even a strand of hair. He calmly looks at the masked man and then begins to speak calmly.
"You are responsible for the disappearances, for the 'game,' and for the press case."
Even with the mask, it was clear that he was smiling broadly, and he begins to clap wildly.
"Congratulations! You got it right, Jack."
End of chapter
As I always say, as long as you don't keep bugging me, the chapters will take a while to be released.